Oil prices have surged after new Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vowed “revenge” following Israeli-American strikes and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warning that they would keep the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed, AFP reports.

Around 1450 GMT, Brent crude climbed 9.46 per cent to $100.68 a barrel, having already broken through the $100 mark earlier in the session. Its US equivalent, West Texas Intermediate, gained 10.02pc to $95.99 a barrel.

Opinion

Editorial

Words that wound
Updated 18 Jun, 2026

Words that wound

LONG before a church is burned, a mosque vandalised or a mob assembled, the poison that enables such violence has...
‘New urban province’
18 Jun, 2026

‘New urban province’

CONSIDERING the advance state of urban decay that affects Karachi, voices are often raised calling for the megacity,...
Punjab budget: mixed bag
18 Jun, 2026

Punjab budget: mixed bag

PUNJAB’S budget for FY27 is a mix of good and bad political choices, with a cash-strapped centre tightening the...
Spoiler alert
17 Jun, 2026

Spoiler alert

AFTER the temporary peace deal between the US and Iran is physically signed in Geneva on Friday, an arduous process...
Storm-tested cities
17 Jun, 2026

Storm-tested cities

THE deaths caused by the latest spell of monsoon rains in KP and Punjab illustrate how quickly severe weather can...
Chakwal tragedy
17 Jun, 2026

Chakwal tragedy

A NINE-year-old girl is dead because a Punjab Crime Control Department gunman mistook her family’s car for a...